‘Meaty’ Stories, and How to Write One

I watched The Dig on Netflix last night, after several writer friends told me it was good. It was, and it got me thinking about stories that you think are about one thing, but are really about something else. Spoiler alert – I will tell the ending! If you haven’t seen it, here’s the trailer:…

Read More

A Tool to Protect You and Your Writing in Hard Times

Okay, let’s have an honest discussion here. We’ve been at this pandemic thing for over a year now. We’ve been sick, terrified, and TP deprived. We’ve been nowhere since we can remember, and if it weren’t for Netflix, we’d have totally lost our shit long ago. And that’s not even counting the chaos in our…

Read More

Why NOT you?

Okay, no whining in this one.  Yes, I know this writing thing is hard. We spend years and sometimes decades pouring ourselves into stories. You sweat, edit, cut and sweat some more. And in the end, there’s no  guarantee that an agent or editor is going to want it. Indie? Readers may not like it…

Read More

Writing Routines for the New Year

I’m not a fan of New Year’s Resolutions. Maybe because, though I’ve made a ton of them,  I have never kept one. I mean, saying I’m going to do something doesn’t get it done, right? I’m more a fan of changing my routine to accommodate a lifestyle change. I’m not sure I’m a good example…

Read More

Writing Inspiration from Dinosaur Poop

Get ready . . . your inbox and social media streams are about to be inundated with New Year’s Writing Inspiration posts very soon. I decided to do my own weird rendition first. I mean, after all, it’s been a year. Here’s what happened so far: After my publisher decided they don’t want more books…

Read More

Writers are Different

I’m not sure if it’s nature or nurture, or both, but you have to admit, we writers seem a bit . . . odd to the rest of the world. Even to the people who know us best, and love us anyway. I asked a bunch of my writer friends for anecdotes that proved this.…

Read More

Backstory – Done Right

Okay, I’m finally digging myself out of the butt-high pile of boxes – I should be back with a regular blog next week. In the meantime, here’s another edition of The Write Stuff: What do you think? Can you give us an example of backstory done right from a book or a movie?

Read More

BE the Dude

I am butt-deep in packing paper and tripping over boxes from my move, so this week I’m dishing up another of my ‘Write Stuff’ videos: What do you think? Any other tips for us on how to be in the character’s head?

Read More

WHY Do We Do This?

A straightforward, oddly depressing yet uplifting post to help you remember WHY we do this writing gig: How about you? What keeps you going? Share your tips!

Read More

Marketing – the Longest 4-Letter Word

Hi all!  I’m going to be moving over the next few weeks (insert both a squee and a groan), so I’m not going to have the brain cells to conjure blogs. But never fear, I’m digging into my YouTube library for some old posts I did on writing craft, and you probably haven’t seen them.…

Read More